Alexei Navalny: Don't worry about me! Says Putin critic from Arctic prison

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny took to social media to tell his supporters not to worry about him.

After appearing for the first time since December 6, he confirmed his arrival at an Arctic prison, and said that he was in good spirits.

His team had no contact with him while he was transferred from another prison to eastern Moscow.

Navalny is considered Vladimir Putin's most vocal opponent, and has been in prison since 2021.

Navalny wrote on the website km (1,200 mi) northeast of Moscow.

IK-3 prison, located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Oblast, is seen as one of Russia's toughest prisons, and most of those detained there have been convicted of serious crimes.

Navalny said he was transported with “such precaution” and on “such a strange route” that he was surprised when he was told his lawyer was there to see him, because he did not think he would be found before “midnight.” January”.

Navalny was previously detained in Melikhovo, 235 kilometers east of Moscow. He faces a 19-year prison sentence on charges of establishing and financing an extremist organization, charges he has always rejected as politically motivated.

He can only post on social media when he has access to his lawyer, and last month three members of his legal team were placed on an extremist list.

Navalny noted that he was moved first to the capital, then east to the Ural Mountains region and then again to the west, before being moved north of the Arctic Circle.

“It's been a very stressful 20 days of commuting, but I'm still in a good mood, as befits Santa Claus,” he wrote.

The Kremlin critic continued his hoax message: “Since I am Santa Claus, you are probably wondering about the gifts. But I am a special Santa Claus, so only those who have behaved very badly get gifts.”

The United States said that while it welcomed reports that Navalny had been located, it remained “deeply concerned” about his safety and conditions of detention.

Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, said Russian authorities were determined to isolate Navalny and “try to make his life as unbearable as possible.”

She added: “This colony is very far away, it is very difficult to reach it, and for lawyers, it will be very difficult to go there and see Alexei.”

Ivan Zadov, Navalny's aide, said the prison change showed how “the regime deals with political prisoners and tries to isolate and repress them.”

His team's anxiety increased after he failed to appear in several court sessions.

Mr. Navalny made his name as an anti-corruption activist, amassing millions of views for his video investigations.

He appeared to be a charismatic activist, the only Russian opposition leader able to mobilize people in large numbers across Russia to participate in anti-government protests.

But in 2020, he was poisoned in Siberia with what Western laboratories later confirmed was a nerve agent.

He was treated abroad. Upon his return to Russia in January 2021, he was immediately arrested.